Sarah, Alex, and Varel
by I heart Star Trek
Summary: Cadets who have just transferred onto the Enterprise. Various events that happen to them or to the Enterprise. Please review. I know you're out there, readers, so please review. I value each and every review I recieve.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

As I walked out of the Academy, people swarmed around us. My classmates and I were part of the graduating class and were about to receive our assignments.

"Cadet Alexander Drakenfleur. You have been assigned to the _USS Enterprise_." The admiral called out. My best friend grinned and slapped me on the back.

"Congrats!" I squealed, enveloping him in a hug. He beamed and made his way to the rest of the lucky cadets who were boarding the _Enterprise_.

"Cadet Sarah Bell." I swallowed and stepped up. "Cadet, you are being promoted to ensign. You are assigned to the _Enterprise_ also." I started hyperventilating. YES! Not only the _Enterprise_ but a promotion! I slowly walked to the rest of the cadets and hugged Alex.

"We're both on the same ship!" I exclaimed, shocked. "I never thought it would happen!" I then noticed Alex was eyeing weirdly. "What? Do I have something on my face?" I dug wildly for my compact. It would be just my luck to get my assignment and have something giant mark across my face.

"Sarah, you're fine." Alex said. Just then, Varel (last name unpronounceable) came up. "Varel! Have your assignment yet?"

She raised an eyebrow at the excitement in his tone. "Yes. I am a junior science officer onboard the _USS Enterprise_."

"This is great!" I exclaimed. "We're all on the same ship!"

"Hey, Varel? Did _you_ get a promotion?" Alex asked.

"No, Alex. I did not. I would assume you have a reason for asking." Varel responded, characteristically showing no emotion.

He jerked his thumb at me. "She got one. She's an ensign."

"I believe that congratulation is in order. Congratulations, Sarah." Varel said. I could tell that she really was happy for me. "Is there a problem, Alex?"

"No." He deflated. "I'm going to get my stuff together. I'll see you guys later. K?"

"Alex!" I called after him. "Alex, please wait!" But he ignored me, as per usual when he was angry.

Varel was watching me, concern breaking through her stoic mask, though I was the only one to see. "Sarah, is something the matter?"

I sighed. "Varel, I was promoted."

"I have gathered that much." She said gently. "Alex is somewhat, distressed over the fact?"

"Not distressed as angry. He, well, I guess he wanted us to start our new assignment together." _Oh, Alex. Why couldn't you just accept this? Please, it's not like I asked for the promotion. We're still friends, right?_

"He has no logical reason to be angry." Varel noted.

I laughed wildly. "Humans aren't logical, Varel!" I started crying, still laughing. "After three years, you should know that!"

Varel took my arm and guided me back to the dorms. She sat me down on the bed. I didn't know what she was doing until she left and I heard the lock click. The Vulcan had locked me in our room! I collapsed on the bed, determined not to cry. It didn't work. I was creating the full waterworks when she returned. I barely even noticed that someone was with her. Someone wrapped their arms around me. Thinking it was Varel, I leaned into them and bawled my eyes out. The door swooshed shut. It was then I noticed the fine, sinewy muscular arms that were holding me tightly. Looking up, I met Alex's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Alex." I choked out. I started bawling again.

"Shh…" He comforted me. "It's going to be okay." I looked him in the eye. "I promise. You're going to be fine, Sarah."

"I love you, Alex. You're my best friend in the world."

"You're my best friend, too." He told me. Alex hugged me again. "Now hurry up and get your uniform on! We're going to be late for our shift!"

"We have the same shift?" I asked.

"Yeah. Right now, we're going to be on the bridge, paired with the main bridge officer. So, I'll be with Commander Spock." He grimaced. Spock was another Vulcan.

"Alex, he's a Vulcan. Not a leper!" I joked. He smiled and messed up my hair. "ALEX! I just finished combing that! Now I have to fix it!" I dragged the comb through my hair and looked at the chronometer. "Let's go!" We walked out the door and caught the turbolift to the bridge. One of the other ensigns was on it. _Chekov, his name is…_ I thought.

"Hey." Alex greeted him. "I'm Alex."

"Pavel." He introduced himself.

"I'm Sarah." I offered my hand, ignoring Alex's dirty look. "Nice to meet you." _Omigod, he's really, super cute._ I thought. I took a deep breath and asked: "Hey, Pavel. Would you like to get a coffee after our shift?"

"Vy not?" He answered rhetorically. "Sounds like fun. Ve can get to know each other better."

I smiled broadly. I had asked him on the first date and he had accepted! (This _was_ the twenty-third century, but guys still traditionally asked the girl on the first date. Backwards?) "I'm looking forward to it." I turned back to Alex. "Hey, Alex? Where's Varel?"

"She's in one of the science labs." He replied. I nodded, frowning.

"Sarah?"

"Huh?" I looked up and saw we were already on the bridge. I hurried off and walked to the helm. (Although I had studiously laboured over sciences, I much preferred manipulating the ship's course). The really cute ensign sidled into the chair next to mine, navigations. "Hey, Pavel." I greeted him.

"Sarah!" His eyes brightened.

"You're in navigations?"

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to this. Even though this is Gamma Shift!" He joked. I laughed along with him. Not only was he cute, he was funny and had an awesome personality.

"Sweet! I'm training for the helm." I groaned. "The responsibility of driving the ship rests on my shoulders. You know Pavel, you have the easy job. All you have to do is give me the directions. I actually have to get us there!" He grinned.

"Vell, I also hev to fire the phasers or torpedoes at enemy wessels at exactly the right time." He pointed out. We collapsed with laughter, even though it wasn't all that funny. I felt Alex staring at me from the science post.

The Captain cleared his throat. "Welcome to the _Enterprise_! I am Captain Kirk. This is Commander Spock, Lieutenant Commander Scott, Lieutenant Sulu, Lieutenant DeSalle and Lieutenant Uhura. First Officer, Chief Engineer, Chief Helmsman, Chief Navigator, and Chief Communications Officer respectively." Each officer gave a wave and smiled when the Captain introduced them, with the exception of Commander Spock, who raised his hand in the Vulcan salute. We struggled, trying to force our hands to separate. Surprising everyone (meaning the Senior Officers), I mastered the salute on the first try. I had practiced the salute for two weeks a few years back when Varel took me and Alex to Vulcan for the first time. We met his family and I had ended up holding my fingers apart in order to do the salute properly. I shook my head, clearing away the memories of Vulcan and focussing on what the Captain was saying.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Each of us was working with our corresponding officer. Alex was with Mister Spock as was Varel. I was partnered with Lieutenant Sulu and Pavel was working with Lieutenant Riley. Suddenly, a huge Klingon Warbird loomed in front of the _Enterprise_. Automatically, we junior officers stepped back to let the senior officers man the bridge, but the Captain waved at us to stay at our stations. Joy. If the ship blew up, it would be my fault. I was controlling the helm.

"Mister Chekov, arm photon torpedoes and lock phasers onto the Warship. Hold your fire." Kirk ordered.

"Torpedoes armed and phasers are locked on target." Chekov reported. I could tell he was nervous; there was the slightest sheen of sweat across his forehead. I probably looked worse.

"Miss Vanderbilt, open communications with the Klingons."

"Aye, sir." The ensign answered. I didn't know Vera Vanderbilt that well, but she was always nice enough to me. "Coming in now, sir."

"Klingons! This is Federation space. What brings you here?" Kirk spread his hands wide. I noticed that Lieutenant Commander McCoy had slipped onto the bridge and was standing behind Kirk's chair.

The Klingon commander leapt up at the sight of the captain. "KIRK!" He thundered. "This is not Federation space. It is twenty parsecs outside the Neutral Zone, encroaching on Klingon territory!"

The Captain seemed unfazed by the Klingon's outburst. "Sub-Commander Kor!" He exclaimed, sounding genuinely delighted. "How nice to see you again!"

"You will exit Klingon Territory or my ship will blow the _Enterprise_ out of space itself." Kor said angrily. "And, seeing how you like to keep your information updated, it is Commander Kor. Not Sub-Commander."

"Congratulations on the promotion, Commander. Or did you simply assassinate your superior?" Kirk casually inquired of the Klingon.

"I was promoted." The Klingon seemed very open.

"Doctor McCoy, if you would give Cadet Chekov that hypospray now, you could resume your duties in Sickbay."

"Aye, aye Captain." McCoy saluted Kirk. This was strange. The only time I had seen the doctor salute the Captain was when he was mocking him. Next to me, Chekov was eyeing the doctor suspiciously.

"Fire," McCoy whispered quietly. Chekov stared at him. "Dammit boy, fire now." McCoy pretended the hypo was jammed to stall for time. "Fire," he hissed and stabbed the navigator. Chekov winced, but fired the torpedoes lest this crazy doctor use the hypospray again. I wondered what was in the hypo…

"Ensign Bell, back us up so we are well into Federation space."

"Aye, sir." I adjusted the helm and watched the Klingon ship shrink as we retreated out of the Zone. I wondered if they would be foolish enough to follow. From what I knew of Klingons, I assumed they probably would. I was right.

"Miss Vanderbilt, please hail the Klingons again." Vanderbilt complied and I watched Kirk with interest.

"KOR!" Kirk bellowed at the viewscreen. "We warned you! Now get the hell out of our territory before we blow your sorry arses out of space itself!" Everyone on the bridge visibly straightened at the captain's tone, the Vulcans excepted of course. The Klingon ship fired one more shot at the _Enterprise_ before retreating back to their territory. "Ensign Vanderbilt, send a message to Starfleet Command notifying them of this, skirmish. Request that a cruiser be posted in this sector to act as a sentry."

"Aye, sir. Message sent via subspace." Vanderbilt complied. Kirk nodded. Suddenly, the control panel shorted out on Alex's station. He held up his hands in wonder, staring at the charred skin. His fingers were black with large red blisters blossoming.

"Bones!" Kirk said, "Scotty, I want to know why that panel shorted. Tear it completely apart if you have to." I bit my lip, trying not to react to what I saw. McCoy got Alex on his feet and was escorting him to Sickbay. "Spock," he added, and though he didn't actually give an order, Mister Spock stepped forward and began running tests and scans and all those things a science officer needs to do.

I counted each agonizing second until the shift was over.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Finally, two agonizing hours later, shift ended. Or rather, we were dismissed from our posts. While shift had technically ended only an hour and a half later, we stayed on the bridge in order to allot our full time of bridge observation. At long last, I escaped to Sickbay.

I noticed that Doctor was in his office with the Captain, imbibing what looked suspiciously like Saurian brandy. Timidly, I knocked on his door. Doctor McCoy hastily put away the substance. "Ensign. What can I do for you?" He drawled.

"Uh, Doctor, I was wondering if I could see Al- er, Cadet Drakenfleur. He's sort of a friend of mine…" I trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it.

"Of course, Ensign. Right this way, Jim, stay here." Doctor McCoy gave the Captain a long look, "Jim, give yourself another dosage of that prescription. You look like your headache has gotten worse instead of better."

Doctor McCoy walked out of his office and walked with me to Alex's bio-bed. I swallowed nervously, suddenly afraid for him. Or for what I might see. "Ensign, stay as long as you want." The doctor said kindly.

"Doctor," I said, not going in the room, "How is he?" I looked up to see McCoy's blue eyes staring worriedly into the distance. I took this as not very good. I walked into the room, not bothering to knock in case Alex was asleep. He was, but to my surprise, Varel was seated with him.

"Cadet Varel. You have been standing there for an hour. As the CMO of this ship, I am ordering you to go to the Rec Dec, get something to eat, and relax." McCoy angrily turned away, muttering to himself about how this crew was going to kill itself. I frowned, not understanding why he was so upset. However, Varel did not leave her vigil from Alex's bed.

"Varel," I said hesitantly. She barely inclined her head to acknowledge me. "Varel, I'll stay with Alex. Doctor McCoy ordered to go eat something and rest. He is your senior officer." I added, hoping that would make her go.

"Varel," I said on a burst of inspiration, "is it not illogical to stay here with Alex while he is unconscious and cannot know you are even here? Is not logical to properly nourish yourself so that your body functions?"

I could see her weakening. "Varel, you go and eat something, then rest. Or are you going to be completely illogical and stay here?"

"I shall be back in five ship standard hours." Varel said. "That is enough time for nutritional intake as well as meditation."

"Don't be late!" I teased her. Ignoring me, Varel left the Sickbay, presumably going to meditate. As she left, I sank into the chair beside the bio-bed. I suppose I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, no other than Pavel Chekov was standing over me. I sat up in surprise. "Pavel!" I exclaimed.

He started visibly. Then, he noticed it was just me. "Hey," he smiled.

"What brings you here?" I wondered, remembering how much antagonism Alex had shown to him.

"I vas vorried about him. After all, ve cadets should stick together. All for one and one for all." Pavel explained.

"Ah, The Three Musketeers." I noted. "Alexander Durmas, from France, Earth, if I'm not mistaken."

"He vas originally from Russia. It is common knowledge that he moved to France a few years after graduating from high school to pursue the great Russian art of literature," Pavel smiled at me. I frowned.

"I don't remember that being in the history books."

"Common knowledge." He said again, grinning. I thought he was teasing me, so I smiled back flirtatiously. "So, er, I should be going now. I promised to meet Mister Spock on the observation deck. He said he vanted to talk to me. Something about an experiment in vun of the science labs." Pavel hastily left the room.

It was then I realized why he had left. Alex was awake.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Alex!" I exclaimed, giving him a hug. "How do you feel," I added, concerned. But, he simply stared angrily at me. "Alex," I said cautiously, "what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Why was _he_ in here? That Chirkoff guy or whatever his name is!" Alex snarled. Automatically, I recoiled. What was wrong with Alex? Sure, it seemed like he didn't like Pavel, but he had never shown this much direct antagonism before. I decided to tell him the truth.

"You want to know why he was here, Alex? I'll tell you." I paused for a minute and took a breath to calm myself. "Pavel was here because he was _worried_ about you. After the board blew out on your station, _everyone_ on the bridge was worried. If you don't believe that, ask anyone." I breathed heavily through my nose. "I have a report to write," I muttered as I made my way to the exit.

"No, wait! Sarah, please! I admit, I was jealous that he likes you. And even more so when you told me you liked him. But if you want to date him, that's up to you. But if he does anything stupid, he'll have to answer to me." I hugged Alex.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I love you, Alex. You're my best friend ever."

Doctor McCoy appeared by Alex's bed. "Y'know, Ensign, Cadet Drakenfleur needs to rest if he wants to get better. I'm a doctor, y'know, not a miracle worker." He drawled, "that title belongs to Mister Scott."

"Aye, sir." I dodged Alex, who tried to ruffle my hair yet _again_ and waved goodbye.

"Bye, Sarah!" Alex called after me, very loudly. I blushed and tried not to giggle as I tried to escape."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I was very excited. We had just established orbit around a planet and Captain Kirk had chosen me to lead a landing party. He had included: Pavel, Alex, and someone from Security who I didn't know. The Captain was going to head a separate party consisting of himself (wasn't that against regulations?), Mister Spock, Doctor McCoy, and a Security officer. "Okay, Lieutenant…" Kirk looked around the bridge, "Sulu, you have the conn." It seemed that the Captain simply assigned anyone he liked the conn, instead of the most senior officer. Then again, he often headed the main landing party himself.

We walked to the Transporter Room and positioned ourselves on the pads. "Energize, Mister Scott," Captain Kirk ordered the Chief Engineer. I heard Doctor McCoy say something just before we were taken into the beams, but I couldn't distinguish what it was. We reappeared on the planet below. "Bell, Chekov, Drakenfleur, and Ebliska go that way," he jerked his thumb to the north. "If you see anything, don't shoot. Call on the communicator and Mister Spock, Doctor McCoy, Ensign Johnson, and I will come to you. Don't shoot," the captain cautioned again. He and his party left.

"Okay," I took a breath. "Let's go. Remember what the Captain said; don't shoot if you see something. I am assuming that if you see something alive, you should tell me. I'll take a look at it and we'll call the Captain." We set off. It was a nice planet, though too warm for our tastes. Each one of us was sweating, and I thought that part of it wasn't just from the temperature. Well, not Ebliska as much as the rest of us, and I remembered that she came from a planet where the average temperature was warmer than a day on Vulcan. We made our way through the undergrowth, being careful not to step on anything. Suddenly, a vine moved. I put my hand up to caution the others to stop. I held my breath as it slowly fell back to the ground. It seemed safe to move. Ensign Ebliska hesitantly stepped forward. I held back a scream as the vine twisted itself around her legs, ensnaring her and circling up to her neck. I breathed in heavily, "Shoot on stun about a foot down from where the vine doesn't touch her." I said. I didn't trust myself to do it; I might hit Ebliska. Alex stepped forward and opened fire. "Chekov, get your communicator and tell the Captain." _As for me_, I thought wryly, _I'm going to try not to faint_. I heard the Captain say he would be right there. Next thing I knew, the vine was wrapped around my neck. From what I could tell, it had also trapped Pavel. I thought Alex was still out there, so I called his name out.

"Sarah!" He responded. "Are you alright?" Alex sounded so distant, but I knew he was right outside this plant thing.

"I'm fine. Is anyone else still out there?" I asked, hoping I was wrong.

"No, it must have gotten both you and Chekov." He replied. I swore under my breath.

"Okay, we know it doesn't like phaser fire," I thought out loud, trying to find a way out of this mess. "Drakenfleur," I said, trying to be all commander-like. "I want you to fire your phaser at heavy stun for two minutes at the roots of this thing."

"You don't know what that'll do. It could respond and wrap itself –"

"It may also make it release us. We know nothing about this creature. Do it now." I ordered him. I hoped he would listen; I knew that if it was him in here and I was trying to get him out, I would be hesitant to shoot it. I heard a phaser whine and felt the thing loosen its grip on me. "Pavel, where you?"

"I em here." A weak voice answered. "I think I must hev hit my head on something hard."

"Can you move at all, or are you trapped?" I asked, trying to think of a way out.

"I can move, but I think my arm is broken."

"Right or left?" If it wasn't his dominant arm that was broken, then we might still be able to get out of this mess.

"Left." I heard him say. I slowly got to my knees. The creature didn't try and grab me again.

"Okay, I'm going to come over to you. Keep talking so I know where I'm going," I said as I started crawling. Pavel started talking about the most random things. He gave me long list of items that were invented in Russia; however I didn't know how to respond to some of that. He claimed the plomeek soup was made one day in Chelyabinsk. When I asked him on what part of Vulcan Chelyabinsk was located, he made an odd noise and told me it was in Russia. I laughed, even a situation as grim as this, Pavel would make a joke.

I felt something soft. "Pavel, can you touch my hand?" Something firmly gripped my fingers and I sincerely hoped it wasn't the plant. It was slightly wet and clammy, so I figured it was probably Chekov. I pulled him up to his feet and saw he was trying to favour his left leg. "Pavel," I said, looking him straight in the eye, "that's not your arm, it's your leg." He looked down and shrugged.

"It is a left limb," he said. I shook my head and pulled his arm around my shoulder. I saw Alex and shouted out to him. He looked up and I could see the relief in his eyes.

"Elbliska's dead." He said. I swallowed. I hadn't known her, but it was a shame. I looked up and saw the other landing party making its way to us. I waved with my free hand at them and they ran the rest of the way.

"Report, Ensign!" Kirk ordered as soon as he arrived.

"We found a vine. It looked like it was motile, so we decided to take a closer look with the tricorder. It had tentacles on it, sir, and it used them to grab Ensign Ebliska. I ordered Drakenfleur to try and stun it using the phaser; however that seemed to have no physical effect on it. I am assuming Ebliska died of suffocation. After Drakenfleur used his phaser, the creature formed more tentacles and they went behind us from the other side. They wrapped around me and Ensign Chekov. I am assuming that Drakenfleur shot at it again, as it released Chekov and me. Chekov is injured; I believe his left leg is broken." I finished.

"The vine. Was the vine a sentient creature?" Kirk asked. I felt annoyed. What was I supposed to have done, asked it how it was doing today?

"No, sir." I looked up to see Alex answer the Captain's question. He handed the tricorder to Captain Kirk, who looked at the information we had picked up from scanning the area.

Captain Kirk picked up his communicator. "Kirk to _Enterprise_."

"_Enterprise_, Scott here." The Chief Engineer's voice crackled through the speaker.

"Six to beam up, Mister Scott." Kirk flipped the communicator closed and the familiar sensation of the transporter beam engulfed me.

We reappeared in the transporter. Pavel was leaning heavily against Alex and me. "Captain," I said, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes, Ensign?"

"Permission to go to Sickbay?" I hoped he would let me. If didn't I might report him, seeing as how Pavel's leg is broken. Kirk looked confused for a minute, but disguised it as concern.

"Of course, Ensign. Bones," he turned to the doctor, "I want you, Drakenfleur, Bell and Chekov to meet Mister Spock and I in the Briefing room in two standard hours."

"Jim, I have to –" McCoy protested, but Captain Kirk cut him off.

"Two hours, Bones. No more." He walked away, with Mister Spock following him, presumably to the bridge. Doctor McCoy went to the intercom.

"Transporter Room to Sickbay," he growled.

"Sickbay, Chapel here."

"Nurse, I want three portable bio-beds to the Transporter Room ASAP!" McCoy snapped off the intercom. Why did he need three bio-beds?

When the bio-beds arrived, accompanied by Nurse Chapel, Doctor McCoy lifted Chekov onto one. He looked at me. "I want the both of you on the bio-beds." Our confusion must have shown because he added, "I want to do a complete checkup. Make sure nothing got you down there." There really was no arguing with Doctor McCoy when he wanted to do something like that. All you could do was get yourself an appointment for a physical exam.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The physicals were terrible. I had always hated them, and doing them when I was sore was no picnic. Pavel had been excused from them as his leg had just been healed by Doctor M'Benga. After the physical exams, we went to the briefing room as the two hours allotted by Captain Kirk were over. "Ensign Bell, report." The Captain ordered me.

"Approximately twenty minutes after we separated into the two groups, we found a vine like creature. At first we didn't think it was motile; however we were proven wrong when it wrapped itself around and suffocated Ensign Ebliska." I outlined the rest of our experience, concluding with when I gave my preliminary report on the surface of the planet. Kirk nodded, in agreement with what I said, I supposed. Mister Spock was to give the other party's report.

"Precisely eighteen minutes twenty two seconds after the landing party separated, we also encountered multiple creatures that resembled vines. We judged them to be native flora and moved on earlier than we should have, as we were looking for sentient beings to interact with and offer the chance to join the Federation. Fifteen minutes after we first saw these creatures, we realized that they were following us. The vines, for lack of a better word, ensnared themselves around Ensign Johnson and he asphyxiated." The First Officer sat back down beside the Captain.

"Thank you, Miss Bell, Mister Spock." The Captain stood up. "There is a creature down there. It has proven that it is sentient. It has _murdered_ two of my crew." Kirk took a deep breath.

"_Easy Jim._" I heard Doctor McCoy mutter quietly.

"We are going to go back down to the planet. Mister Spock, Doctor McCoy, Ensign Bell, and Lieutenant Jackson will accompany me." Doctor McCoy swore under his breath. I took a quivery breath; I really did not want to go back down there. Kirk walked to the wall comm unit. "Kirk to bridge."

"Bridge, Sulu here."

"Lieutenant Sulu, have Lieutenant Uhura contact Lieutenant Jackson and tell him to meet me in the Transporter Room in fifteen minutes."

"Aye, sir." Sulu's deep voice sounded.

"Kirk out," he flipped off the comm. "Ensign Bell, come with me." I nodded, unwilling to speak lest I freak out. Captain Kirk looked at me. "Ensign, are you okay?"

Confused, I stared at him. "Of course, Captain. I am fine."

The Captain shook his head. "No, Ensign. What's the matter?" He insisted again, concern showing in his voice.

"Nothing, sir. I just feel a slight aversion to beaming back down to that planet after seeing what it did to Ensign Ebliska. I didn't know her very well, but I was starting to think we were becoming acquaintances."

Kirk nodded. "I see, Ensign." _What was the Captain up to_, I wondered silently. "Ensign, it is completely understandable if you stay here." _Where did that come from?_ I took a deep breath.

"No, sir. I will carry out my duty as a member of this crew. If that includes beaming back, I will do that, sir." I inhaled deeply again. "At what time are we going back, sir?"

Kirk looked me over. "We have ten minutes still, Ensign."

"Aye, sir." I walked to the Rec Deck to spend a bit of time with my friends.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Johnson and Ebliska are dead." I said quietly. Alex whirled around.

"Sarah!" He cried, obviously relieved that I had come back from the planet unharmed. I was not hurt, but I did not feel whole. "Sarah, are you okay?"

"Alex, I just saw Ebliska die." I held back the tears that were threatening to spill over, "I saw her _die_."

"Sarah," Alex was obviously trying not to freak out while calming a hormonal twenty year old female. "Sarah, it's okay, you're fine. It was an accident; there was nothing you could have done," he said soothingly. That hit me, hard.

"But there was, Alex! I was in charge of that party, I should have reacted faster. If I hadn't stood around thinking, Ebliska would still be alive!" I no longer tried to contain the two waterfalls flowing from my eyes.

Alex walked forward and wrapped his arms around me. "Sarah, don't you think the Captain goes through this every time he comes back up from a planet minus a member of his crew? There's nothing you could have done." He repeated softly.

"Everyone else was fine." I said, taking a deep breath through my mouth.

"There's a positive." Alex said cheerfully.

"The Captain came back, the Doctor, Mister Spock, and Pavel." I trailed off. "The other Security member didn't…wasn't…" I felt my face grow hot again and the waterfalls began flowing again.

"Sarah, calm down. Listen to me. Listen to me!" My best friend's voice commanded such an authority; I wondered why he wasn't the head of a department yet. Then I remembered where I was and what had happened.

"What," I asked sulkily, trying to stay detached.

"It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"Wh-where'd you get that idea from?" I asked, giving a quivery laugh that sounded hollow, even to my ears.

"It wasn't your fault," he repeated.

"Alex," I whispered. That was that last thing either of us said. He scooped me into his arms and we kissed the whole way to his quarters.

A/N: So, what are you thinking about this? Surprised by this ending or no? This last bit wrote itself, or so it seemed to me. Let me know what you guys think below in a review! Sorry it's a bit shorter than normal.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I had to admit I was puzzled by Alex's behaviour. Why, it had only been the other week when he had wanted to kill Pavel simply because I wanted to be friends with him and now he completely accepting that I (I'm not going to deny this!) had a crush on him? Something was going on here. And I wasn't about to let it go unchallenged.

"Hey Alex," I greeted him, surprised. "What's up?" We were in the Mess Hall. "I thought Doctor McCoy was keeping you under lock and key in Sickbay?" I joked.

"Me too – I thought I would never get out of there!" Alex groaned dramatically.

"I heard that," a voice came from behind us.

"Doctor! We were just joking, weren't we Alex?" I said hurriedly. Doctor McCoy only smiled at us and moved along to sit at a table. I grabbed my food and followed Alex to an empty corner of the room. I grinned; embarrassed beyond belief but there I was, grinning like a maniac.

"Sarah, you nearly get us in trouble by complaining about a Senior Officer _in front of said Officer_ and all you can do is smile?" He asked incredulously. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yep." But inside, I was a tumult of confusion. I liked Alex. As a friend, but it was starting to develop into something more. And then there was Pavel. He was funny and cute and smart and a lot of other things and I had already admitted I liked him. So what was up with that? How could I be falling for two completely different guys at the same time? _There should be a handbook on how to deal with this stuff_, I thought angrily.

"Sarah? Did you hear what I just said?" Alex waved a hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" I jerked back to reality. Alex took one look at me and sighed. "Sorry, was I off in Neverland again?"

"I don't know. In Neverland, Peter Pan was able to talk to Wendy." He said. I wasn't sure if he was being serious or a goofball. I smiled weakly.

"Alex, what's new? Hey, have you seen Varel recently? The last time I talked to her was a while back. I don't want her to think I've forgotten to be her friend."

"That is highly unlikely," someone replied. Alex and I both looked up and saw Varel standing beside the table.

"Hey girlfriend! Long time, no see," I said cheerfully. Varel raised an eyebrow in confusion. I hurried to explain before she got literal – "It's an expression. Girlfriend, well, you're a girl and you're my friend. And it's seems like it's been a long time since I've had a chance to talk to you."

"Sarah, I assure you, I understood what you meant. I've had the past five years to 'get used to' human idioms and the art of being illiterate." Varel replied, completely serious. I had to stifle a giggle at her use of the word illiterate, not that it didn't work grammatically but it sounded as if all humans could not read.

"Oh," was all I said._ Damn it! It's fun to tease her about idioms and the like_, I thought. "So, what's new with you? Done any fascinating research? Anything interesting come up?"

"I have, as have you, been 'job-shadowing' a senior officer."

"I 'shadowed' Lieutenant Sulu, Helm Officer." I offered.

"Yes, Sarah. I was also on the bridge the first day."

"Oh," I said quietly, remembering. "You were shadowing one of the Science Officers, I presume."

Varel nodded. "Yes, I had the opportunity to observe Commander Spock, the First Officer."

"Commander Spock? If I remember correctly, he had written most of the science papers we had to read in the Academy."

"The Commander has written a good deal of papers." Varel acknowledged.

"We're among living legends," I said wondrously. "We're on the _Enterprise_ and we're working with legends."

"Living legends?" A voice behind me drawled. I jumped, and noticed that my friends had already saluted the officer. I hurried to do the same.

"Lieutenant Commander!" I said quickly, "we just meant that –"

The officer in question cut me off. "First off, it's Doctor, none of this Lieutenant Commander business. Second, I'm not in command and you don't need to salute me. And third, I don't think Jim would be too pleased to hear his new status as 'living legend'."

I wondered for a moment who this 'Jim' person might be, before realizing that he was Captain Kirk. "Doctor, we were having a private conversation."

"Of course you were," Doctor McCoy said good-naturedly, "but that still doesn't change the fact that I'm involved now, does it?" He winked.

"I just meant that everybody knows who the Captain, First Officer, and Chief Medical Officer of the _USS Enterprise_ are." I gasped with a sudden revelation. "Doctor, I apologize if you felt I was disrespecting you and the other senior officers."

"No disrespect was intended, I'm sure." Doctor McCoy replied evenly. "Now, Ensign," he paused and peered at me closely.

"Bell, sir. Ensign Sarah Bell. And this is Cadet Varel and Cadet Drakenfleur." I ignored Alex as he shot me a look that clearly asked why I identified him. I watched as the doctor mulled over what I had said and I supposed he was wondering why an ensign was hanging out with a couple of cadets.

"Very well, Ensign Bell, you make sure you, Cadet Varel, and Cadet Drakenfleur make it on time to your physical examinations in two weeks time." I hid a groan.

"Of course Doctor," Varel replied when it was obvious I wasn't about to. He dismissed us and we made our escape. Or rather, I did while Alex and Varel simply walked away.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9**

We were beaming back up to the ship when it happened. One moment we were rematerializing onto the _Enterprise_ and then we were immediately beamed onto a different ship. The transporter technician there was very confused, especially since he wasn't operating the machine. He touched his Starfleet pin. "O'Brien to Captain."

"Picard here. What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, three people have just beamed aboard the ship."

"Is there something unusual in this, Chief?"

"Well, sir, I didn't beam them up and they're not from the _Enterprise_."

"Explain."

"They appear to be wearing Starfleet uniforms from one hundred years ago, sir."

"From, one hundred years ago? Are you certain about this?"

"Well, sir. They're not our uniforms, but they are definitely Starfleet issue."

"Bring them to Briefing Room A. Picard out." I wondered what was going on. Where were we? What did he mean we weren't from the _Enterprise_? I exchanged looks with Alex and Varel, but they didn't seem to know what was going on either.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but it's the best I could come up with for this transition. Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"So to summarize, you are in Starfleet, were transporting back to your ship the original _USS Enterprise_ and rematerialized on this ship in this time period?" The First Officer questioned.

"These are the events as they unfolded," Varel replied, sounding coolly logical.

"Sir, I have investigated the transporter system and conferred with many specialists, including Mister Data, and there is no way we can fix the transporter to try and transport them back to the twenty-third century. Even if there was a way, I would be hesitant to do so as it would be extremely risky." The Transporter Chief stated. "Captain, it is my recommendation that they be taken onboard the ship, brought up to date on our technologies and alliances, and become members of this crew."

"All in favour," the captain asked. Almost all the senior officers raised their hand in agreement. "I concur. Number One, show our, new officers, to their quarters."

"Aye, sir." The First Officer led us out of the room. "I'm Commander William Riker, second in command."

"I'm Cadet Alexander Drakenfleur and these are Cadet Varel and Ensign Sarah Bell." Alex introduced us.

"Ensign, do you mind sharing quarters with a cadet?" The First Officer asked me. I would have laughed out loud, except of course, he didn't know anything about us.

"Of course not. Actually, Varel, Alex, and I are friends," I told him.

"Well, that's good. Your quarters will be down this hall, fifth door on the left. Mister Drakenfleur, if you would follow me, please." I tried not to laugh at how the First Officer pronounced Alex's name. It wasn't Drake-in-flair. It was Drak-en-fler.

"Sir, if I may ask, how will we be, well, brought up to date. After all, we're a little outdated, being from the twenty-third century and all." I asked curiously.

"You'll have access to the computer. I'll send Lieutenant LaForge to your quarters to brief you. If you have any questions, let him know." Riker answered.

"Aye, sir." I replied. Varel and I entered our new quarters, I somewhat cautiously. "Well, this is nice." And it was. Actually, it was fairly similar to the quarters I had on the, well, other _Enterprise_. Suddenly, I was filled with a longing to return to that ship. My room, my other friends, the crew. I found that I even missed the Vulcan science officer, Mr. Spock. Pavel Chekov, the young navigator who I was just beginning to become friends with, or perhaps it was more. Either way, I'd never find out now. They were probably all dead by now. "Computer," I said softly.

"Working," it replied.

"Find all data on crew of _USS Enterprise_ under command of Captain James Kirk. Compile list and print. In particular: Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lieutenant Commander McCoy, Ensign Chekov, Lieutenant Sulu, Commander Uhura," I paused, "Ensign Bell, Cadet Varel and Cadet Drakenfleur."

"Working," it stated again, "Kirk, James T. Dead. Promoted to admiral, demoted, lost in space. Presumed dead.

Spock. Promoted to captain of the _Enterprise_. Left Starfleet circa 2290. Help unify the Federation and Klingon Empire as allies. Status: alive.

McCoy, Leonard H. Promoted to admiral. Medical officer. Status: alive.

Chekov, Pavel A. Promoted to admiral. Status: alive.

Sulu, Hikaru. Promoted to captain of _Excelsior_. Has received honours from Starfleet as one of the finest. Status: alive.

Uhura, Nyota. Teacher at Starfleet Academy. Status: alive.

Bell, Sarah. Varel. Drakenfleur, Alex.

Assigned to _USS Enterprise_.

Status: Missing In Action. Presumed dead."

"Off," I said softly. Someone buzzed to come in. "Enter," I said quietly, but clear enough for the computer to respond.

"Hi. I'm Lieutenant LaForge. Commander Riker said you needed a little briefing on what's going on." The man said. He paused, then: "This is my VISOR. I'm blind, so it lets me 'see' the electromagnetic spectrum."

"Sorry," I blushed. "Was it obvious?"

"Not really. But these things were only invented twenty or thirty years ago." Lieutenant LaForge smiled. "Not your fault." He proceeded to 'brief' my friends and I, which was more like a history lesson covering one hundred years. "Now, let's update your uniforms." He went to the wall and programmed the computer. "Ensign what's your size?"

"Um, small." I thought. "Unless they've gone and changed how people size clothing."

"Extra small," Varel said.

"Men's large," Alex smirked at me. How he could possibly laugh at this, I don't know.

The commander ignored our sparring and replicated the necessary clothing. I was happy to see that women were no longer required to wear those awful miniskirts. I went to the inner room and happily slid into the jumpsuit. Varel followed and I assumed Alex was in the restroom. When we went back to the outer room, Alex was speaking to Lieutenant LaForge.

"Alright then. I'll leave you to get settled. Feel free to talk to the crew. I'm sure they'll be happy to answer any questions you have, and they just might ask a few in return! I have to get back to my bridge post." LaForge waved and walked out the door.

A/N: For the most part, the part about the TOS crew is accurate. However, I have invented some fictitious details. This website is fantastic:

/wiki/Portal:Main

A/N: Now, to integrate these 23rd century people into the 24th!


End file.
